Conqueror's Trust
by Dro'gan called Niteflier
Summary: From early age to ruthless conqueror to penitent reclaimer, follow the Senshi of Death on her path. Third in the Altered Senshi series
1. Part one

Disclaimer: Some characters copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and Kodansha. I'm still not idiot enough to claim them. Some elements were taken from the game Lords Of Magic, copyright Sierra Games and Impressions Studios.

Conqueror's Trust

Chronicled by Dro'gan, called NiteFlier

At a time when humans of the third planet had just discovered banging rocks together to made fire, the civilization of my home planet was at its peak. Towers jutted toward the sky in the capitol of D'kay, the land grew more than enough food for our people before the harvest reaper came, and the people that made up this kingdom were joyous, happy to take up the burden of sacrifice.

That was my beginning.

I was raised in a crèche with my thirty siblings. Brothers and sisters not by heritage, but by rite and home. The crèche was one of thousands, each one ruled over by a Priest, and his servants. They told us what to do during the day and how to sleep during the night. They taught us of what we were destined to become when we were old enough. There were many things we had to sacrifice to advance in this tiny world. Each Yenda, one three hundredth of a year, we gave up one thing most special to us, and were blessed by the Priest. He taught us the Religion, the way of Death.

There had been thirty-two of us on the day we were born, but one had be sacrificed, and her blood spread over our brows to bless us in our life. When the time came, and we were Tannom, one fiftieth of a year old, another would surrender their life for us, and it would be then that we received our name and occupation for the rest of our lives from Her. The order of Death was our lives, and we adhered to the teachings that were our life.

When I was five Yenda, the Priest came to each of us like he had done in previous years, and asked us what our most favorite thing was. Usually we would tell him, and fetch it, and it would be destroyed, to show us that all things must perish, and then he would bless us.

But that time, I found I could not tell him, and so pointed out another thing, of less value to me. The aged man looked at me calmly, and asked me if this was truly what mattered most in the world to me. I broke down, and cried and begged his forgiveness, for it had not been what was most special to me. He calmed me, and told me that all would be forgiven, and asked me again what it was that I could not let go.

I took his hand, and led him to a red haired girl that was my best friend, and told him, this is my most special thing. The red haired girl smiled and hugged me, and presented herself to the Priest. He in turn asked her what it was she would sacrifice, and she pointed to me. He smiled, and took both of our hands, and led us back to the Sanctuary, where the sacrifices took place. He told us that it was not his place to take life without Her consent, but for now, a measure of blood from both of us would do.

He took down the Blade, a replica of Her mighty Talisman, and cut both of our wrists, and drained some of our blood into a vessel, which he put upon the altar and burned. He then took us back to the infirmary, and bound our wounds himself, and laid a blessing upon us.

It was not all ritual, our childhood: there were rough and tumble games, thinking skills and puzzle boxes, and schooling and friendships. After our fifth Yenda, the red-haired girl and I became even faster friends, and rarely would you see one of us without the other close by. We studied and played and pulled pranks on the boys, especially that one with the silver hair, whom it was agreed among the girls that was universally disliked.

It was between our sixth Yenda and our seventh, that we were taken to see a Tannom take place. We had been out in the city before, but none of us had been to the Citadel, where She resided. After entering the great gates, we were sent up a stairwell to the upper gallery. I, and many others from my crèche, gasped, as we looked upon the Great Sanctuary, where She made sacrifices up to the Great One, Golgotha. Below us in the Sanctuary were thirty-one children like us, standing in a semicircle around the Altar.

Then, She entered.

She was beautiful, poise and grace flowed from her. She was dressed in black, her form hugging clothes leaving nothing to the imagination. There was a great jewel on her chest, but at this distance, I could not make it out. By Her side, there was a long dagger, and I knew this to be Her Talisman. She walked down the line of children inspecting each closely, sometimes telling something to Her attendants behind Her.

Finally, She stopped at a boy, one who was rather pudgy in the middle. She smiled at him and laid Her hand on his head and told him something. She then drew Her Blade, and plunged it into his chest. As the boy fell to the ground, Her attendants were organizing the children, forming them into a line and presenting them to Her. She reached down into the boy's chest, and for each of his siblings, drew a line of his blood across their foreheads.

The blessing complete, the children left the Sanctuary led by their Priest, and we followed ours out as well.

When we returned to our crèche, my friend and I talked for quite some time on what we had seen, and neither one of us could quite figure out if it was more honor to be the one sacrificed, or the one blessed by their sibling's blood. We looked upon our own Tannom with anticipation, for neither one of us knew what occupations would be given us, or what names we would hold.

Our Priest caught us in one of these conversations, and asked us what we would like, for both occupation and name. We could neither think of something that we were truly worthy of, nor what name we would have if we could choose our own.

It was a few days later that I asked Priest how She had been chosen for Her position. He had smiled, and told me that to be Her was a great honor, and required the blood of an entire crèche and the previous holder to satisfy the Great One. The new holder is always chosen by the old, excepting only the impossibility of Her death on the battlefield. I asked him what name She had, and he frowned. I had thought that I had gone too far, but he reassured me and told me that while She had a title, he was not sure if She had a name. That was why, if not referring to Her by Her title, one always used the most respectful form of pronoun one could use.

It occurred to me later that he had never told me what Her title was.

There came, at long last, the day of our own Tannom.

We were taken from our crèche following our Priest, and guided to the Citadel once more. At the door to the Great Sanctuary, our Priest knelt by each of us, and embraced each of us gently. After the doors had closed behind us, I never saw him again.

We were formed into a semicircle like we had seen before, and waited. I looked at the red haired girl out of the corner of my eye, and we both smiled slightly. Even if we never met after today, I knew that she would always be in my heart.

I heard a door creak open, and I saw Her enter. She was dressed the same as before, black, knee high boots stepping carefully over the carved stone beneath us. Her elbow length gloves had seemingly random slashes taken out of them, but each palm and wrist were bare. Wide ribbons crossed down from her shoulders and from behind her back, covering her chest and hips, but leaving much still showing. A circlet of black gold wrapped around her head, with a strange symbol in the center of her forehead. Earrings of the same materiel and showing the same symbol dangled from her lobes. The jewel that rested between her breasts was a giant garnet, carved to look like a gaping skull.

She looked over us, gazing at each of us in turn, and began to glide down the line, carefully observing each of us in turn. As she approached me, my thoughts turned to the sacrifice of life one of us had to make. I started to recall all the times my friend and I talked of the Tannom, and which would be more honor: To be blessed, or to be used as the blessing? I had reached a conclusion. It was infinitely more honorable to be used as a sacrifice, especially for one's family.

She swept past me, continuing on, but I was not yet disappointed, for at the end of the line, She paused, then came back. Each of the others that She passed looked up at Her in awe, hoping, perhaps, as I was, that She would pick them?

She slowed, then stopped. I looked up into Her dark eyes, and was puzzled. What was this feeling of great loneliness, this exhaustion that is overwhelming me?

Her hand goes down to Her hip, and She draws Her Blade. My eyes light up and joy overcomes the feelings that are so strange to me. It was me! I was the one chosen!

She looks me over very closely, studying every detail. A part of my mind not rejoicing notices the priests behind Her are frowning and whispering among themselves. She holds the dagger in front of me, examining something in the blade and comparing it to me. Finally, She smiles, a satisfied, but dark expression. I blink and find the hilt of the Blade facing me, Her hand gripping the blade tightly, staining the metal with red.

The priests observing the Tannom gasp in shock, and the others from my crèche look at me in wonder. I reach out and take the hilt in my hand, and in the instant I do, several Truths became known to me.

This Blade was the Talisman of the Senshi of the planet, Sailor Surnuro, The Senshi of Death.

Only females could become Surnuro, and only one Surnuro could be in existence at one time.

Surnuro, because she was the Senshi of Death, could not be killed in all but the most extreme of circumstances.

There were other Senshi, for other planets, but it was rare that they left their homeworld.

There was a Word of Power required to become the Sailor, but only for the initial transformation.

These Truths I took in, my head reeling from the knowledge forced into my mind. I focused, and took the Talisman from Her, Surnuro. I looked up at Her, and She whispered, "Illhara..."

She stepped back, and spread her arms wide, the smile still on Her face. The same analytical part of my brain noted the priests were hurrying over, and that they did not look happy. My arm rose of its accord, and drove the Talisman deep into Surnuro's belly. I slice upwards, scarlet runneling down to the floor, the blade parting flesh roughly, and grinding to a halt against Her ribs. I push harder, and start to rock the weapon, sawing against the bones, and finally stopping in the middle of Her sternum.

A single swift twist, a loud crack in the silence of the Sanctuary, and Surnuro's chest is split open. She winces, and falls to her knees, streams of her blood running down her legs, and pooling beneath us on the floor. The cold, analytical part of me again notices that the priests have left, and that the others of my crèche are gathered around Surnuro and me. The two sides of Her chest are hanging loosely, Her heart and lungs visible. I reach up and grasp her heart, feeling it beat beneath my hand. A single, swift stroke and it is released from its prison of flesh.

Surnuro's eyes finally close, and she topples back, dead at long last.

I bring Her heart up to my head and smear her blood onto my brow. My sight is clouded with red, but I blink it away, and see the others, faces lit up, coming closer to me. I reach out and hug my friend and she smiles and kisses me. The blade slips easily into her, with none of the resistance that Surnuro provided, and her blood soon adorns me as well.

Thirty-one die by my hand that night, and their blood is spread onto my head, blessing me, and giving me a new life.

* * *

The priests come later, and take their bodies away. They lead me to a tower, the Spire, where I shall live from now on. They do not call me Surnuro, for one day must pass before I may wash the blood from my soaked clothes and take up the mantle that was passed to me.

The time comes, and I stand in the Great Sanctuary once again. There are three priests in front of me, standing in front of the Altar where they have placed the Talisman. Last night these three drilled the coming ceremony into my head, and each warned me of dire consequences if I bungle it. Behind me on the floor of the Sanctuary, and in the galleries were other priests, of all different ranks.

One of the priests in front of me makes a small motion, and I advance to the Altar, until the first is blocking my path. I stop and he asks, "Who are you to take up the path of birth?"

I hold out my red stained hands to the white robed priest and answer, "I am one who has been christened by the blood of my siblings." He nods and steps to the side.

I step up another stair, and am confronted by a priest in red. "Who are you to command those who live?"

"I am one who lives without fear of the After." I reply. He too, nods and moves away.

One more step, and I am halted by a priest in black. He booms, "Who are you to take up the Weapon forged by the Great One, Golgotha?"

"I am blessed by the blood of She who wielded it once, and only I know how to do so again." I move forward as he goes to the side.

Before me now is the Altar, and on it, the Talisman. I reach out and pick it up, noting that there is still blood on it, as there is me. A slight tingle goes up my arm now, and I can feel the people behind me, expectant and waiting.

I examine the talisman now, seeing the same strange symbol on its crossbar as was on Surnuro's circlet and earrings. There is also a skull on the pommel similar in materiel and design as the one that had been on Her chest. The hilt feels large for my small hands, and the blade stretches as long as my forearm.

I turn in place, and hold the Talisman high; I look out into the sea of faces and note not one woman among them. For a moment, that small analytical part notes that I had seen no females _ever_ besides my sisters.

The priest in black who challenged me is frowning, wanting me to say the Word.

I close my eyes, and murmur so softly, that I can barely hear myself, "Illhara..."

Light swells around me, rods of white, ruby and ebony cascading against my form. I feel my feet leave the marble floor, and my arms lifted to my sides. The weight of the Talisman has left my hand, but I feel no worry for it as I am placed upon the ground, lights fading, and more Truths awakening in my mind.

My Talisman, the Light Blade, was mine to call as I wilt, and would be reformed to match me as I changed, as with my uniform.

I need only have the correct mindset to activate my transformation now, and the same applied to returning to a "normal" state.

I would not age while transformed, but would not have full access to my powers while not in that state.

Then as I opened my eyes, I heard a small voice, almost drowned out in the cacophony of my mind say, "...do not trust any but a Senshi..."

I looked out over my audience, and lifted my hand. They watched in silence as I formed the Light Blade. It was now smaller, sized to fit perfectly into my grasp. I saw that the three priests were before me, the one in red holding up a mirror.

My eyes widened as I saw myself. I was clean, my skin and hair rid of stain, and wearing a uniform somewhat like my predecessor, but with the same amount of cloth on me as was on Her.

The priest in black stepped forward, "Greetings, Surnuro, May you keep us on the path that the Great One ordains."

* * *

Life after that followed a simple program. I went about mostly without my uniform, but always with my Talisman. I learned from Bel'soth, a white robe, about the beginnings of our culture, about birth and babies, and of what politics were being played with the agricultural products. From Thu'chur the red robe I received knowledge of the ceremony of day-to-day life of the priesthood, of marriage and sex, and how the priesthood affected the secular side of the government. Larchnon was my last teacher, the black robed priest, the highest in the hierarchy of the Citadel, taught me of the rituals that were used but sparingly, of secret elixirs and potions, and of how the king danced to the puppeteers in the order of Death.

None of them suspected that I learned as much as that, however. I gave them no more than what they expected, and they seemed pleased enough to have another puppet, as all of their preceding Surnuro had been. On the surface, at least.

Within the Spire, my home, my suite is stacked one room on top of the next. The highest floor is my bedroom, with balconies facing in every direction, showing that the Spire was the tallest structure in the city. The next floor down was my study, in which resided the journals of my predecessors. If one of the priests were to take a peek here or there in the books, they would seem to be naught but ramblings. But if they read them through, like I did, they would have seen a wonderful connection arcing through each of them.

The priests thought they knew spells and magic. The least of the castings that I learned from the writings of the Surnuro before me would crumble all that they knew. But that, and the other knowledge that I gained from their journals, kept me more than suspicious of the priests.

And there was that small voice, that I still heard in the twilight between waking and sleep: "do not trust any but a Senshi..."

* * *

As I grew I used my uniform more and more, until I at last settled at a stable age and kept the transformation working at all times. It was an odd thing, growing up. Every day I transformed, and I was able to see how the uniform changed as I grew. One thing stayed constant: the amount of fabric. As I grew, however, the amount of me that fabric covered grew less and less.

Why this happened was obviously one of great mysteries of life, for I could not, with all my effort, create an outfit with more decency. Although, I will admit it was very distracting for the priests, and thus I used it to slip things by them that they would noticed if not for my embarrassing outfit.

Too, as I became able I took place in ceremonies in the Citadel, including those of Tannom. I found that the priests arranged for names and jobs for the children, and gave them to me to tell the children after they had been blessed by the blood of their sibling.

My routine shifted as well when I grew of age. By my second Tannom, Bel'soth admitted that he had no more to teach me. Soon after, Thu'chur had to stop his lessons, for he said that I had outstripped even his knowledge. Only Larchnon did I still learn from, and he had gone to giving me tidbits of information, a Word here, a formulae there.

The potions that he taught me were interesting, but what really drew me was his vocabulary of Words of Power. A Word was a dangerous thing, and knowing many words made Larchnon a dangerous person. No matter how powerful the spellcaster, a Word can always be used, and most times, it is with dire effect.

Time passed, and I learned now from the actions of the priest that surrounded me instead of their words. The men of the white robe were the caretakers for the children of our world, keeping the upbringing of the next generation in line with what was expected. The red robes were the ones to take over after the children had reached their first Tannom, and directed them in their new occupations and brought male and female together in marriage. Those of the black robes, however, were prevalent in the governing of our world. They were also the most common around the Citadel and the Palace of the king.

* * *

There came a time where Larchnon noticed that I was paying a bit more attention to the novices at exercise than was entirely proper. He took me aside and asked what it was I wanted by looking at them. I in turn told him that I did not know what had attracted me to them. He just smiled and nodded, and left it at that.

A few days later, Thu'chur came up to my rooms in the Spire. I looked up from the book I had been reading and saw that the man was very nervous.

"Something the matter, Thu'chur?" I asked him.

He shuffled in place for a second. "Larchnon requested that I... inquire into something for him."

I place the book down and fold my arms over my chest. "This is new. If Larchnon wishes to ask me something, he usually goes right ahead and asks. What is it that he wants _you_ to ask for him?"

Thu'chur shuffled his feet again. "Larchnon felt that since it relates to part of what I taught you, I should be the one to bring it up." My eyebrows raise, and I wave at him to continue. "Err. I told you of marriage and the rituals involved in making two..." He trailed off at the frown on my face. "Ah, that is... Larchnon wanted to know if he should find a... suitable male for you."

I closed my eyes, and waited for a moment. "Krjnn!" I opened my eyes and saw that Thu'chur had frozen in place, just as the Word should have done. I stood up and stalked to the spellbound priest. "He wanted to know that, hmm?" I paused, and searched my memory. "Shlukk!" There was no noticeable change in him. "Why does he wish to know?" Thu'chur opened his mouth and closed it. I looked at him and said the word again, "Shlukk!"

"He needs to know so that he might procure a lover for you...!" The man's words were strained from the two Words commanding him to both be still, and to speak the truth.

I tilted my head. "Why did he send you?"

"So that he would be rid of me...!" the words were gasped out.

I paused and thought for a moment. "Llayris."

Thu'chur slumped to the floor, taking deep labored breaths. I knelt beside him, watching him. "You're dead, you know. If Larchnon wants you dead, he needn't have sent you to me. A simple 'vision' that he is so fond of and you would have been sacrificed faster than an eyeblink. It would not be painless either, you know." I put my hand under his chin and lifted his eyes to meet mine. "So. Since you are already dead, do you wish a long, excruciating death, or a relatively quick and painless one?"

His breathing had shadowed and he looked me in the eye. "You want my knowledge." he accused.

I smiled at him. "Of course. I get what you know, and you get peace."

He grimaced and nodded. I rose and brought a chalice over, still half full with wine. He sat up and took the chalice, drinking down the rest of the liquid. I called the Light Dagger to my hand and took the cup back from him.

"Suu kkal tann" I whisper as I cut his throat. I catch the blood in the chalice, and it fills to the brim with his life. "Kaad!" I say, and the blood stops. The cup is full, and I drink it down with the murmur of "Thu'chur, kee'andros." As the hot liquid passes my lips, I can feel the knowledge entering my mind. Not memories, but information.

I drain the chalice dry, and slump, my mind reeling from the information overload. Thu'chur is dead; the gash that crosses his neck is cauterized, but only to save the floor. I slowly gain my feet and stumble to my desk. I pour more wine into the chalice and drink, but still taste the iron tang of his blood.

I sit down at the desk, and hold my head in my hands. I try to sort through what Thu'chur has given me. Slowly, taking more than an hour, I reconcile the new from the old, and get rid of what I already know. Surprisingly, he did know of a few Words that I did not, and strangely, they all had something to do with a woman's body.

I file that away for later, and pull a rope beside my chair. Within a minute, a novice comes up the stairway, and his eyes widen as he sees Thu'chur upon the floor.

"Take him away, and prepare him for his last rites." I tell the young black robe. He gulps, nods, and picks up Thu'chur with strain and begins dragging him down the stair. When he is out of sight, I whisper, "Daak."

The novice will have a demon of a time getting the smell of blood out of his robe now, but perhaps Larchnon will not notice that I took something from my former teacher.

* * *

It is a week later before I see Larchnon again, and surprisingly, I find him at the base of my Spire.

"Ah, Surnuro, I have obtained something for you." He smiles as he says this.

I know that he is planning something, and my mind drifts back Thu'chur's death. "And what is it that you wish to give me?"

His smile takes on the qualities of a snake's. "Why, there is need for balance in everyone, and I have been sorely lacking in helping your own balance." He gestures up the stairway. "What you will find at the top of these steps will be of assistance to you." He moved off to the side, waving grandly up the stair.

I stalk up the curling stair until I am out of sight from the bottom, then sprint up to my study. From there I stealthily slip up to my bedroom, and peek in.

There, in the middle of the floor, is a man. He is facing away from me and he is naked, his back showing lashmarks and by his shoulder the tattoo of a slave. I come silently into the room, and slowly walk along the edges to face him. His hands and feet are in manacles, with a chain between. I would not think it likely that he could climb up or down stairs very well.

As soon as I walk into his field of vision, his eyes lock onto me, but show no recognition of who I am. Interesting. Do the slaves not go through similar rites as those born free?

I pace up to him, and ask, "Do you have a name?" He nods, but does not say it. "Will you tell me?"

He parts his lips, but hesitates. I wait patiently. "I am called Harra." He looked worried for a second. "What is yours?"

I look at him oddly. I know for sure that he does not know who I am. He cringes when I do not answer. Perhaps there is a punishment for asking names of those not slaves? "Do you know why you are here?"

He nods slowly. "I... I am a Sheran, Lady."

I cant my head to the side, and look at him puzzled. "A Sheran?"

Now it is his turn to be confused. "I am one who pleasures ladies of the nobility."

I nod now. "Then why are the marks on your back fresh? Surely the women that you... pleasure... do not want one that is marked?"

He bows his head. "No, Lady. But my last mistress became wroth at me, and requested of her husband to send me to the laborers for a day. I... did not do well there, and when I returned to my former mistress, she rejected me, and sent me to those of the Order to be sacrificed."

My eyes narrow and my breath hisses in. Harra looks up in worry before dropping his head again. "Larchnon, I place another to your debt. I am not your personal excuse to the Great One."

Harra is shaking slightly, and I place my hand on his head. "Be calm." I command, and he stills. "I think that I shan't take you down to the Sanctuary, but you shall have to recompense me for it." His head comes up and he looks me in the eye. "I have never had the touch of a male before. All I ask is nothing more than what you have done before." I touch the manacles, and with a small spell, unlock them.

Harra nods again, and picks me up gently, bringing me to my bed, and laying me on it. "As you will, Lady."

* * *

Sex.

Wonderful, beautiful, overwhelming.

I spent an entire yenda under the veil of arousal. Larchnon supplied me with the participants, and I drank my fill of them. Some of them did not give me the feeling that I wished, and found themselves sacrificed to the Great One, but others exceeded my expectations, and were rewarded in small ways.

Harra spent most of his first night pleasing me, but the two subsequent ones were partly spent by me asking questions of his life.

It had occurred to me then, that I had not been outside the Citadel since my arrival on my first Tannom. It took me awhile to find a way to sneak out, but I found an interesting fact: When I was not transformed into Surnuro, no one recognized me!

I leaned that from the point of the outside viewer, my two states were completely different people. When I talked with shopkeepers in the morning, they did not identify me as Surnuro at the evening ceremonies. It was thus that I was able to learn even more about life outside the Citadel.

But for that first yenda after Harra, I cared not for those discoveries. My mind was driven by the need for sex, and Larchnon gladly provided the means to satisfy that need. I trusted him to bring me what I needed, and he learned quickly that I did not limit myself to ordinary pleasures. Men, women, even a few of the novices, barely pubescent, became my toys. But I trusted him.

And had it not been for my forays outside of the Citadel, I would have never have found out his lie.

For an entire week I treated myself to the same man. He was quite expert, and fulfilled my needs perfectly. He was not a slave, but not all of my toys had the tattoo either. I learned little from him, as he kept my far too busy. It had become my habit to learn a bit about my playthings, to broaden my view of the world under BrightStar.

I used this knowledge to visit them under daylight, but this man, Perchar, had told me nothing of his life. I learned some from his body, how his hands had calluses in certain spots, and how he had the slight scent of dough clinging to him. I had checked all the bakeries in D'kay, but still not found him, when I learned of a new shop, one that the likes of which had never been seen.

It sold sweets. Candy they called it. It was mostly sold at the shop, but a few crèches sampled the treat. Rumor had it that the demand for it was so vast, that the shopkeeper and his wife stayed up late nights to make enough for the day.

The fact that the shop was owned by a husband and wife would have told me that it was not my current pet. I had told Larchnon never to send me someone bound by marriage, and he had sworn never to do so. However, the chance to see something new convinced me to go to the shop.

I was within a block of it before the road became crowded beyond the extreme. Were all these people trying to sample the candy? A quiet spell created a bit of room for me, and another made a path for me to the storefront. I quickly went down the path, and ended up facing someone I knew very intimately.

Perchar looked straight at me, and did not know me for the Surnuro. He tended the customer to my left, and then turned to me. "What would you like? An order, or just a single piece?"

My brain stopped for a moment, and my eyes tracked down to the display. A little to his left, almost hidden behind a model of the Palace, was a candy replica of the Light Dagger. I wordlessly pointed to it, and he nodded and pouched it, I dug out a few coins that I had earned from various tasks around the city, and paid him.

Just before he went on to the next customer he said to me, "You know, I think that's the only one of those I've ever made. I hope you enjoy it, young one."

I almost ran, but the crowd prevented much outward movement. I slipped along the side of the shop and into an alley, where I held the packaged treat, and swore that there would be a new sacrifice to the Great One tonight!

* * *

Perchar stepped heavily up the stair. I realize how hard it must be for him, to get so little sleep at night, and still have to work all day. Difficult too, for his wife, who even now must be making preparations for tomorrow.

His wife. When I had told Larchnon, and he _swore_ that there had been none and would not be any that were married.

Perchar must be wondering where I am. I can hear him moving around in my bedroom below. I lay here on the slanted roof, looking up at the stars, and hoping that he sees the table outside.

He does, for his footsteps move onto the balcony, and I can see his back. He looks at the table and I can hear him choke when he sees the two items on it.

One is my dagger. The other, is the imitation made by him.

"An exact copy." I tell him. He turns around and gasps again as he sees me. I am without my transformation, and he sees the girl he sold a piece of candy to. "Very few have been able to duplicate that symbol, even as simple as it is." I look down at him, and still see the shock on his face. I jump down from the roof, and land in front of him.

"You- You're-" Perchar stammers out.

I nod, and my clothes shift to the uniform of the Surnuro. His eyes widen even more, and his legs give out on him, dropping him down on the floor. "I am two people. One, the Surnuro, and the other, a harmless girl." I clench my fist and my dagger materializes in it. "But I was lied to. My trust was broken. You were his pawn. Tell me what he threatened."

Perchar gulps audibly. "He... he said that he would destroy my shop. Make sacrifices out of me and my wife if I told you anything about myself."

I kneel beside him and cup his face. "I'm sorry, Perchar. There were signs. I ignored them. I wanted to ignore them. Trust that was given was destroyed. I shall make sure that you and your wife will be safe." I sheathed my dagger and gave him my hand to help him up. He took it, and stood shakily.

I hold his face for a moment, and take one last kiss. I sigh, and close my eyes. There will be debts paid.

I take him down to the Citadel, and tell one of the priests watching the door to my Spire to escort him home. The priest is confused, but he obeys. I turn to the other priest there and tell him to fetch Larchnon, and bring him to the Sanctuary.

Larchnon is rumpled when he enters the great room. I stand behind the Altar, and gesture for the priest with him to leave. Larchnon frowns, and stalks toward me.

"What is the meaning of this? I have things to get done and I cannot do them if I am being pestered." He is arrogant. He has every right to be, for I have let him run over my prerogatives. But he is also suspicious, for he knows I should be busy with my lover right now.

I smile calmly at him. "Come now, Larchnon, can you not spare a few seconds to talk with an old comrade?"

His eyes narrow and he leans over the Altar. "What. Do. You. Want."

I lean back slightly. "Did you hear about that new shop down near the Grotto? That one with the amazing new sweet? I hear that the shopkeeper's wife has to work all night to make enough for the day. I wonder what the shopkeeper is doing?"

His face slowly pales. "I- I can explain!"

"Oh, really, Larchnon, there is nothing to explain," I say playfully. "I know exactly what you were doing."

His jaw stiffens. "Oh, you do? Well then, you have no need for me to be here!" He turns and strides to the door.

"Krjnn!"

Larchnon is frozen in mid step. He slowly topples over, and crashes to the ground. I walk to him and look in his face. I can see that he is trying to throw the effects of the Word off, but to no avail. My will here is stronger.

I grasp his robe and drag him back to the Altar, throwing him upon it. He is gasping for breath now, and probably seeing spots before his eyes.

"Well, Larchnon. You broke my trust. For that, a punishment is required." I rip open his robe and cut through the rest of his clothes. His breath is short and he is close to blacking out. "Llayris." I say and his struggles stop and he takes a deep breath. The point of the Light Dagger stops him from expanding his chest too far.

"You can't sacrifice me! Think of all I've done for you!" He pleads in vain.

"I know what you have done. And so does Golgotha. Give your excuses to him!"

The blade is thrust with such force I can feel that it has penetrated the top of the Altar. Larchnon shivers once, and is still.

"May your blood turn to dust in the mouth of any who drink of it." I spit into his dead eyes, and exit the Sanctuary.

No one will ever abuse my trust again, for I shall never give it again.

And almost unheard in my anger, is a small voice that I have drowned out for the past yenda in pleasure: "trust no one but a Senshi..."


	2. Part two

Disclaimer: Some characters copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and Kodansha. I'm still not idiot enough to claim them. Some elements were taken from the game Lords Of Magic, copyright Sierra Games and Impressions Studios.

Conqueror's Trust

Chronicled by Dro'gan, called NiteFlier

I recline on my chaise and look out over the capital from my balcony. It has changed greatly during my life; where once before the buildings were made with stones and wood, concrete and steel now dominated the landscape. Even the Palace and the Citadel have converted to new materials. The latter was, of course, my doing. Every five tannom now, the Citadel is completely torn down, and then rebuilt. The Palace has not been so drastic, but it has been modified slowly. My own Spire has had its changes, for though it has stood firm amid the wreckage of the Citadel, improvements have been added in much the same way as the Palace.

More changes have taken place to the social system of D'kay. There are fewer slaves about, for one thing. That, however, is a direct result of no one left on the planet to make into slaves. We have no adversaries left here, and the kings started to call themselves emperors some time ago, but it diminished not the hooks I have on that line. I have seen new technologies sprout from scratch, and put into employ in less than a tannom. I chuckle slightly as I think that such a period of time is nothing.

It isn't, really. I no longer count my age in yenda, or even tannom, but **years**. Not even many of the Surnuro before me have lasted an entire year. A few tannom ago, someone in the hierarchy of priests decided to leave out the teachings of how a Surnuro was chosen from the teachings for the novices. I never found out who it was, but my servants made sure that he was not able to make another fool decision. In the old journals of my predecessors, they always felt on top of things until a few yenda before they chose a successor. I will not leave my people unknowing of what was to come. That is one of my reasons to keep my own set of journals.

I see a spark rise to the sky from beneath the horizon in the southeast. Yes, technology has improved. And slaves might become a larger part of the market soon. When I had found that there were other planets that had humans on them, I pushed the emperor of the time to start a space program. It has since bloomed, especially now that someone intimated that war was the primary source for new slaves.

I snort and take a sip of my wine. While most of the materials for the space program came from our moon, Phre'ja, those willing to go into space were few. As well, it was not a job that slaves could handle, so more and more of the children that come for their first Tannom must be sent up. I rarely handle that now, leaving it up to my priests. I save my effort for those that are truly special.

That spark that has now reached up to the stars is one of our last rockets. The jumpjets and shuttles that are in use now make those single use boosters unnecessary. The shipyards above are making huge vessels of war and their smaller counterparts. We have not sent any emissaries to the other worlds, but I know that spies have been employed by both sides.

And on the subject of spies...

There is a skittering up the stairway, and I needn't look behind to see that Phaard has arrived. I place the goblet on the table beside me.

"What is it?" I ask.

A shadowy voice answers me. "I have a recording from one of their councils, My Lady."

"You were able to infiltrate?!" I sit up and turn around to glare at the eunuch. He stands completely covered in cloth, with his face shadowed by his hood. "No one has ever been able to get even a snippet of such. How did you?"

The shadowy figure shrugs. "It is not for me to say. But I have... friends."

My eyes narrow, but he stands firm. He knows that he is my best spy, for he has worked his way into places no one has been able to before. The fact that he can withstand the free fall of space is the reason I sent him to spy on our future enemies.

I stand and gesture for us to go inside. I move to the screen set up beside my bed, and wave at the player. I know that he will not surrender the recording to anyone, even me. Phaard inserts the disk, and I watch the screen come to life.

A table, at which sits ten figures. Some have their back facing the viewpoint, but the woman at center has an air of power about her, and I would not doubt that she is in charge of the proceedings. Her hair is done up in a ponytail high on her head, and she is dressed in white. She has turned to someone facing her.

"And what is your position on this?" Her voice rings clearly, and I can hear the power of it, even in the recording.

I cannot see the face of the woman who answers but there is anger in her voice. "You know damn well what my position is! They are obviously preparing a force to attack us! I say we go in and crush them now!"

A man in red beside the leader frowns. "You cannot be serious. Prepare for attack, most certainly, but they have not made a threatening move yet."

The angry woman snaps at him, "And this is what our resident god of war says? Bah! If I knew you were such a pansy, I would have conquered your planet ages ago!"

The man's face contorts with rage, "You will take back that statement, or I will challenge you to a duel."

The woman stands to yell at him again, but she is cut off by the leader. "ENOUGH!" She glares at the arguing parties, and they both back down. "Fighting amongst ourselves will get us nowhere." She turns to a man on her right. "What do we know for sure about them?"

The man adjusts his glasses and looks at a data pad on the table in front of him. "Sketchy. We have infiltrated their capital, but their system of government is... confusing, to say the least."

A red haired woman who sat to the left of the still steaming man asked, "How so? Didn't you say before that they had a monarchy?"

"Well, that is what it appeared to be at first..." The man trailed off. "But them we found that their Emperor is being controlled by someone in the noble houses, who's strings were being pulled by the labor industry, who were in turn dancing to someone in their order of religion."

"So it goes back to their priests?" the inquirer asked, brushing her short hair back.

The informer pushed his glasses up his nose. "Er. Here's where it gets confusing. We found that every one of those groups led back to the priesthood, even the ones that supposedly led _away_. Everything eventually leads back to their religion."

Someone called out, "So who is in charge of the religion?"

The man bowed his head for a second. "Well. That's an easy question. The hierarchy of the Order of Death is quite simple, if hypocritical."

The woman in charge looked at him oddly. "What little I've gotten about their religion shows that they take to the name quite well. What do you mean it's hypocritical?"

The dark haired man sighed. "It is quite literally priesthood. No priestesses at all. In fact, one of the basic tenets is that women could not be trusted to kill someone properly. But in defiance of all that, their leader is a woman. A quite ruthless one to boot."

There was a stunned silence. "You mean to tell me that a whole planet of child killers is run by a _woman?"_ the woman in white was incredulous.

The man winced and adjusted his glasses again. "Yes... But they are not all child killers. Just the priesthood. And it s only in the capital." The ponytailed woman waved at him to continue. "We don't know that much about their leader, since the only way into the priesthood is as a child. What we do have is even sketchier than the rest of it. She is apparently a hereditary leader, whose title is passed down to the next with some sort of blade. Rumors state that her age is anywhere from twelve to seventeen years-"

"HA! A child herself!" The man in red stands up again. "You mean to tell me we are afraid of a nation run by a teenager? Pah!" He looks down at their leader, who has laid a hand on his arm.

She herself turns to the black haired man. "Those aren't Terran years, are they?"

The man slowly shakes his head. "No, they aren't. Those are the years of her planet."

The man in red slowly sinks down into his chair. "She could be over four thousand years old..."

"Or just under three thousand. There is no way to tell."

"We're going to be fighting someone who has been running a planet for four thousand years." The red man whispers.

"Don't go that far." The woman in white turned to the dark man again. "Has she ever participated in a battle, or does she stay behind?"

"What?"

"I don't know."

"Why not?" the short haired woman asked.

"We... The records don't go back that far." He shrugged and looked at his hands. "The last time their nation fought anyone, they took over the planet. And that was over two years ago for them."

Silence reigned over the table for a time. "We are in deep..."

* * *

I blink as the picture jerks to a stop.

Looking at Phaard, he shrugs again. "That is as much as I have." I nod, and he retrieves his disk. I sit and ponder the meeting as Phaard leaves. "Surnuro."

I look over to him. He is standing at the stairwell, waiting. "Yes?"

He shuffles his feet. I have never seen him nervous before. "Will you?" he blurts out.

I raise an eyebrow, "Will I what?"

"Will you... take the battlefield?"

I think for a moment, then smile. "It has been far too long since I used my combative magics. I should start practicing again, don't you think?"

* * *

We took their ninth planet, the one they called Neptune, completely by surprise.

I fought at the head of one of the strike groups, and personally took the palace. The guards there were merely ceremonial, the true fighting force being present outside the capital and elsewhere on the planet. But even they fell easily once their fallen comrades rose again as skeletons under my command. My only real obstacle on my path to the throne room were the doors to the great room itself. Skeletons beat upon it, and soldiers gathered up a battering ram. The black robe that I had brought with me decided to bring his own magic to play, but his simple Curse simply dissipated against the closed entrance. He tried again and again, using more and more powerful spells, but to no avail.

"Away!" I called out. "Your simple spells and words cannot break down such a barrier."

"Surnuro, no magic can break down this gate! You know that I am the best of our order, that is why I was sent with you." The priest replied. I look at him carefully. He is indeed one of the better black robes, but all of the them believe they are the best once they reach a certain level. This one is not the best; else he would not have been assigned to fight.

"No magic, you say? Absolutely none?" I query.

He turns red at the thought. "I assure you, Lady, that there is none in all my knowledge that can break down this door."

I smiled quietly at him. Even he was not stupid enough to mistake me now. "Then allow me to enlighten you." I walked over to the door and stood before it. I could tell that my objective was on the other side, and an impression must be made on both her and my own troops.

I raised my hand to the door and whispered, "Scream of the Dead..."

The bolt erupted out of my hand and flew to the gateway, slamming into it with a hollow, resounding call. The doors jumped and then fell slowly in. I did not have time to gloat to the priest, instead concentrating on directing my skeletons and soldiers into the Throne Room.

The room was a vast hall, with a double row of columns down a center aisle, leading to the dais and the throne itself, and the woman sitting on it, looking into a hand mirror.

My skeletons raced ahead, only to be turned into dust when the woman showed them their reflection in her mirror. The soldiers advanced more carefully, but the woman did not use the mirror again. I came in behind them, with that pitiful priest trailing guiltily.

The woman rises from her throne and looks over the heads of my soldiers at me. "So, you are she."

I look at her carefully. She is dressed strangely, with her torso covered in white cloth with a deep blue bow on her chest and a blue gem resting in the center. She has a blue skirt, and has to two slippers of the same color. Her arms are bare, but her hands are covered in white gloves. Her mirror is hanging loosely in her hand, and something tells me that it holds a power like my blade.

"Why would you care who I am, save only to know who shall kill you?" I reply haughtily. I know who is the better here.

She narrows her eyes. "Surely you do not think that you can defeat me? I have survived more battles than you could dream of."

"So, that? If you wish to compare battles, then perhaps you should know that when I attained my position my world was divided into eight different Faiths. But as you should know, now there is only one. I have lived fifteen years, and you have not even a quarter of one. Surrender yourself to me now, and I can make your passing... less painful." I held out my hand in offering.

My opponent's face twisted into a snarl of rage. "I'll kill you first!" She made a broad sweep with her free hand and called out, " **Tsunami Rush!** " My eyes widened as a veritable wall of water formed in the air, and sped towards me and my soldiers.

"Jaii!" I quickly said, the Word forming a barrier between me and the flood.

My troops were not so lucky. The flowing water had swept them out of the room and far down the hall. I felt crackles of magic in the damp air, and realized that the water had other powers besides those visible. I saw the woman on the dais recoiled as she saw me still standing in the hall, completely dry. "I shall not be taken down so quickly, sorceress."

"You are powerful, but you cannot be powerful enough! I am Sailor Neptune, and I shall banish you from Sol's light!" She shouted out something else, and a bolt of water shot at me.

Dodging around the cascade of water, I saw that she had her mirror facing me and she shouted out, " **Aqua Reflection!** "

I caught the sight of myself in the mirror, and for just a second was paralyzed. Truths that had been long dormant in me rose to the surface but before I could even acknowledge them, I felt a presence familiar to me, even if I had only felt it so few times before.

 _ **==COME, MY SERVANT. DO NOT BE BLINDED BY HER PETTY SPELLS. BE EMBOLDENED BY YOUR OWN DARKNESS, AND MY DARK TOUCH.==**_

I come back to myself, and look straight on to another blast sent by Neptune. I merely raise my hand again, and form my blade. When the stream of water hits the tip of the dagger, it disappears, leaving Neptune staring in shock at her intended target.

I can feel the black light upon my form and drink deep of the bloodthirsty madness it brings. I see Neptune backing away, her face showing fear no mortal could live with.

* * *

The next thing I remember is the sweet taste of blood, and I find myself drinking from Neptune's neck, as a vampire would, taking it straight from the source. I recall feeling something as I drove my dagger through her heart, pinning her to the wall. Some feeling of great power slipping through my grasp. I pay it no mind, still feeling the dark madness that Golgotha's Touch brought to me; I bend my head down and drink once more.

* * *

After we took the capital, several groups tried to resist, but each of them died to my bloodlust. The Great One's Touch still flowed through me, and I hunted them alone, leaving escorts and priests behind to prepare and ship our stolen goods. Everything there was to take from Neptune, we took. From slaves to grain to machines and science. As I hunted out the last bits of resistance of a planet we were abandoning, preparations for recovery back to our homeworld and deployment onto the next world to fall were taking place in orbit.

I knew that there was a very thin time constraint, for the other worlds in this system were preparing to attack, to reclaim their ally planet. My forces needed to be gone by the time they reached this world, but there was a new problem that I had not been forced to deal with before. We could not be caught on this world, but neither could we be caught in-between worlds. My strike force that would come with me on the next conquest would not be able to survive an attack by more than two joint fleets from my enemies. The majority of my force would be going back with the freighters, full of prizes. But my blood still wanted more shed, and I would strike hard and fast on their least defended world, razing it for pure pleasure before withdrawing home to luxury.

The council of priests did not like my plan, but who are they to contradict me? They are perhaps some of the few who can feel the Touch driving me to more death. Perhaps they fear that I will fell them if I do not go and defeat my enemies. No matter what the reason, they were glad that they did not have to go with me.

I shall remember them, though. I shall come for them and remind them who rules, and who serves.

* * *

We ran stealthily, the ships keeping as quiet as possible in the vastness of space.

I had three troop carriers and six cruisers at my command, and we were making good time to our destination. We had left shortly before the freighters and their escorts pulled out of Neptune's orbit, keeping an elliptical that would take us back home, but quickly changing it and going stealthy after the first of the enemy ships reached Neptune.

That world is nothing but char now, torched by my men, and defiled by my Shades. Magic in that place shall be warped for long to come.

I wasn't sure why, but I didn't feel completely at ease when I gave that order. Something in me, some part deep down, buried under years of harsh ruling and Golgotha s Touch, murmured in sadness.

But then, I was probably imagining it, for with the Great One backing me, how could I do wrong?

* * *

Somehow. I couldn't believe it, but somehow they knew.

I look through the portveiw and see one of the carriers gently floating down into the atmosphere, gas and flames erupting from the destroyed ship. I know that two more of the cruisers are dead as well, and one, amazingly, has been taken over.

Somehow, they knew, and they ambushed us, just as we arrived. It was not a great force, a mere token defense, but they had gotten the drop on us, and in that initial moment of surprise, might have crippled us. The carrier I was on was dropping troops down to the planet as fast as it could, and I knew that the other surviving ship was doing the same. The three remaining cruisers were turning the tide against a single destroyer and a small group of fighters. Their other destroyer was too busy cementing their hold over my fourth cruiser to do damage to us.

"Lady!" I heard.

Swiftly turning I found one of the ship officers beckoning me to enter one of the dropships. I went with him and entered the ship, preparing as we launched and fell to the planet below. I shuddered through the turbulence of the drop, having experienced it before on the attack of Neptune.

The ship touched down and I followed the soldiers out, immediately seeking for enemies. Seeing none, I turned to one of the men and started to ask him where we were, when the dropship behind us exploded. I rolled on the ground, coming up and scanning the horizon, seeing nothing but the bodies of my men.

"Rhiht! Mrvy Tzol!" Five black forms fade into existence above five of my men. The Shades float for a moment, then scream in rage at being pulled from the shadowrealm to serve me. "Jik Phol! Nimit!" Each of the Shades growl and speed off in a different direction. Within moments, two have returned. I sense that they are less angry after feeding on the souls of those who destroyed the dropship and killed my men. I growl to myself, echoing the Shades. "Nimit. Mou vyc." The two Shades leave again.

I am not pleased. My men are dead, I don t know where I am, and I don t know what the situation upstairs is. I am forced to wait on my servants.

Five minutes later, my five have returned, and given their information to me. I immediately set out west, where the main body of my troops are. It only takes me thirty minutes to cross the rugged terrain, and reach them.

They are glad to have a leader, and we set off to the capital.

* * *

There are nearly no ground forces left, and what little is there is being handily destroyed by a mere two hundred men and five Shades. I do not join in, even though I can still feel the last bit of His Touch urging me to commit.

But I do not, for I know that somewhere near here is someone like Sailor Neptune. She will be mine.

I am keeping watch over the battle, when I hear a scrape on the stone behind me. Turning swiftly, calling my dagger to me, I smile and think: This is her.

And indeed, it is. She stands there in a uniform differing only in color and symbol from Neptune's. Instead of blue her color is deep silver, and instead of tridents, her symbol is merely two columns. Her weapon is not a mirror, but a strange, almost key shaped staff the same color as her skirt. At the tip of the staff is a heart, and within a strange multicolored gem, like the one that adorns her bow.

Her red hair drops down to her shoulders, and I can see clearly into her green eyes. "So," she speaks. "You are She."

I smirk, "That is what the blue one said."

She nods. "I know. I saw."

I am taken aback. How could she have seen? My mind races, could it have been she that knew we were coming and taken steps?

The woman taps her staff on the ground. "Yes. I have been able to see much, but not lately. Recently you have been hidden by something, something that has empowered you, yet takes something away."

I don't know how she knows of the Great One's Touch, but she knows so much else. "Enough. If you can see other places and times, then you must have already seen your death!" I rush her, but am surprised when she sidesteps... and disappears. I grind to a halt, frantically looking around for her.

A sharp rap to the back of my head, and I fall to the ground. "I'm sorry, Sailor Surnuro, but I cannot let your rampage continue. Already you must know that you cannot go home unless you destroy the ships above, and there is still those en route from Luna. Please, do not make this harder than it needs to be." I hear her step closer to me, nearly standing over me.

In a single movement, I attain my feet and slash upwards. The staff goes flying off, and she is on the ground, clutching her arm. I retrieve her staff as she awkwardly rises, one of her hands nearly severed. "I think that you will fail. I can, and I will conquer all for the Great One."

Her face is twisted in pain, but she still speaks. "And after? What will happen after? When you have taken all? What will you do when there are no more near to kill? Do you not understand that your god is using you?!"

"Fool." I say. "I am his most trusted servant. Why would he betray me so?"

"Because... because he already has...!" She is nearly faint from the pain, but she presses on. "Do you remember... Do you remember Growth? Pyre? WindHome? Can you remember? Each of the eight capitols?"

I stop suddenly. What was she...?

WindHome, where I laughingly slaughtered the children of the Ice Giants, even though I had promised myself that I would never harm a child before their first Tannom.

Pyre, where I butchered the great dragon Farin while he was sleeping, even though I had promised myself I would always give a fair fight.

Growth. Where after I had passed, nothing lived, even my own soldiers.

The other capitols, where I had broken other promises. Every time I had been Touched by Golgotha, I had broken one of my promises. And I had forgotten it as soon as the Touch had left me.

"I...I..."

"Listen to me. Listen..." I turned to face her again.

"NO! I trust Him; He would not lie to me! I...I..." I hold my hands to my head, bringing the two Talismans close.

"Trust no one but a Senshi."

I jerk and stare at her. I see her not as she is now, but as she was...

 _ **==YOU ARE MINE.==**_

Conscious will fades, and I charge the wounded woman, words coming from me that I do not know. I am able to look into her eyes one last time before the dagger pierces her breast. All I see there is forgiveness.

"GLOTH LUWN TVAK!"

The power of her death siphons off from her, and more. Somehow, I feed not only on her own energy but on something else, something more powerful.

Something as great as a planet.

And something, no, some _One_ is feeding off me, taking the power I receive and funneling it away to Himself.

Betraying me.

The silver woman rests in my arms. I feel her last few shudders as she goes still.

And the power flows through me to the Betrayer.

"No more."

The flow continues.

"NO MORE!"

The flow goes on.

"...stop..."

Power. Flowing to me. I use that power to snap a connection to me, and to my heritage.

The power is now mine. And it is overflowing this small vessel. How can even I hold the power of a planet? How, and stay sane?

A Word crosses my mind, and I say it.

"Future."

The body in my arms grows cold too fast, its warmth being drained by a creature called as a last act from the Dark One. The silver woman's body dissolves into that of a Shade, as the very rock I knelt on crumbled.

* * *

When I wake, I cannot move.

My mind is in pieces, and I cannot make sense of anything. Where is the Silver Woman? Where is Galadri? Larchnon? Harra? The red haired girl?

Where am I?

* * *

Trust no one but a Senshi.

I had failed in this, and lost whatever trust I could have gained from them, by killing two of them.

Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter are my guards. They are two of the most powerful of the Senshi, but I cannot find the will to care. My mind does not focus on the outside, but on the inside, where I find each of my faults and wonder why I did not find them before. All of them lead back to one simple thing: trust.

They have kept me here for some time, but today will be my last here. Today I will be presented to Queen Serenity.

* * *

My guards escort me down the rows of knights, and though I look straight ahead at her, I can feel the hatred coming from the people beyond the knights. I do not pay attention to them. I have felt their hatred every moment since I awoke in a containment circle, here in the Serene Palace. As I reach the dais where she sits, bracketed by her husband and the three last Senshi, I see two objects on the first step. One is my dagger. The other is her staff, but it is cracked now, and is no longer silver but a dull gray, the heart and gem that topped it is gone.

I come to a stop before the throne. The Queen rises and steps to the edge of the top stair. "You are the murderer of Sailors Neptune and Sailor Valhailia. You destroyed the fifth planet, Valhailia, and somehow managed to survive until found by my ships. You have killed many, for merely the sake of killing all this, and yet we know so little about you. Your motives, your past, even your name is a mystery to us. Tell me, who are you? Where do you come from? Why... Why did you do all this?"

I raise my eyes to her golden orbs. "I did it, for that is what I was trained to do. My first kill was my predecessor, in the Rite of Tannom, where both she and my siblings willingly gave their own blood to bless mine. I served the Great One all of my life, even through the madness of His Touch, where... where I broke my promises." I lower my eyes again. "In the end, Golgotha betrayed me, had been betraying me all along, while I ignored what my heart said."

On the dais, the Senshi in light blue cried out, "And you think that you can get away with it all because of that?!" Before any could stop her, she launched herself at me, preparing a magical blow.

My escorts, Venus and Jupiter, block her from reaching me, and hold her back through her struggles. I pay no attention to them, still focused on the staff of Valhailia. The light blue Senshi grudgingly goes back to the dais, as my guards warily look at me. I bear no chains or containment, for they could not think of any strong enough. But I stand here, and answer her, "No, I do not, for they were still my actions, no matter how misled."

The Queen pauses when she heard this. "So, you will take any punishment I deem?" I nod silently. "You still have not answered my first question. What is your name?"

I sigh softly. "I have no name. Merely a title, as the representative to the priesthood from the Great One. I am Sailor Surnuro."

The audience gasps in shock, and I see that the Senshi are taken aback. Only the Queen shows no reaction. "So you are..." She begins, "You are a Senshi." She pauses. "Sailor Surnuro, for your crimes against the peoples of Our kingdom, I sentence you to exile, in a place where none may come or go. You shall take with you your Talisman, and the broken Talisman of Sailor Valhailia. If you ever attain your freedom, you shall be welcomed back to this court, save only that you commit no other crime. This is Our will."

The crowd in the room was in an uproar as I was brought forward, and given the two Talismans. The other Senshi and the Queen circled around me, and I feel them building a teleport spell.

"Now you shall go to your place of exile, the Gates of Time!"


	3. Part three

Disclaimer: Some characters copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi, Toei Animation, and Kodansha. I'm still not idiot enough to claim them. Some elements were taken from the game Lords Of Magic, copyright Sierra Games and Impressions Studios.

Conqueror's Trust

Chronicled by Dro'gan, called NiteFlier

Here am I.

Where am I?

Am I, I?

What is this place?

Who am I?

* * *

I drift in and out of madness, here in this place of no-time. There is no day, no night, no way to tell time in a place anchored to the very forces that control it.

I don't know how long I've been here. It could be mere seconds, or it could stretch thousands of years.

I've lost track of the times that I have been insane.

I've walked and walked and walked, yet no matter the direction I go in, I always come back to the Gate.

It sits here in this misty place, perhaps the only truly real thing here. I have examined it in my saner moments, tried to destroy it in madness, and merely sat and watched it at times. It appears to be nothing but a great doorway, a stone arch with ironwood doors and worked metal hinges. There is no lock, merely runes of power. I have tried every Word of opening I know, yet it has done nothing, and nothing I do to it changes it.

There are only three other things here in this mist. My dagger, the Light Blade, Vahailia's broken staff, and myself. The Gate watches over this place of mist, and I wait here in exile, forever.

* * *

The staff is six feet long, and is a dull gray color. Near the bottom are workings into the cracked metal that appear as a key, but in no way is there a keyhole in the Gate. The staff is cracked and flawed, it is nothing compared to the beautiful weapon that Vahailia wielded.

But it is no longer a Talisman, for there is no Senshi to wield it, and no planet for that Senshi to be reborn for. The staff belongs to me as much as it could to anyone now, for it's true owner shall not come for it.

I am sure that it is my key to freedom.

* * *

What is this?

A door?

A door and a dagger?

A door, a dagger, and a staff?

A door, a dagger, a staff and a woman?

Who is this woman?

Is this woman me?

This woman with green hair, and red eyes?

Eyes as red as the gem on her chest, the gem on the dagger.

The dagger and the staff.

* * *

The Light Blade. The Time Staff.

Not just a blade of dark light, but of white and ruby. Birth and Life and Death. I have wielded the light of darkness. What else might I wield?

Not just a broken staff, but one that commanded the very primal forces of time. Past and Present and Future. She wielded her power over them all, to see my past, to see my present actions, and to even foresee her own death by my hand.

Why did you choose to die?

How can I recompense your sacrifice?

All of you that I have killed, how may I repay you?

Must I save a life for every one I took? Then I shall.

Must I build up a world, where I destroyed one? Then I shall.

Must I take your place among the Senshi? Then I shall.

* * *

The image flickers in the air, guttering and flawed, yet I can make out the image of Sailor Neptune and Sailor Mars sparring with magic, two of their elders in the background, watching the young Senshi to make sure no harm comes to them.

The image fades, my will over the Gate failing under the pressure from the magical structure.

I have gained ground over time. I now know how long I have been here, for I can look into the present at other points in space/time.

My age is over. My home is one of the planets of Queen Serenity now, the ninth in her collection. They call it Pluto now, after the god of the underworld. That is perhaps the only thing that is the same as I remember it. D'kay is truly a city of death, for it was abandoned twelve years ago, and nothing lives there but ghosts and a few remaining Shades. There are other cities, where once there were ruins, ruins that I made. Growth blooms year round, WindHome rises over the icy peaks, and Pyre's fiery workers produce some of the best weapons of Sol's system.

Sailor Surnuro's time is over. Golgotha is no more, and neither is his servant, but I still wield the Light Blade, and I am still the Senshi of Death.

But perhaps I can be something different from what I was...

Even in Growth, the city of Life, things must die to make room for others to be born. Perhaps... only necessary death?

Even so, it all comes to nothing while I still am in exile.

* * *

The images that I call up from the Gate are sharp and crisp, as if I were standing there myself. I think that is why I went mad so many times here: I was so alone.

Now, even though I am still alone, I am no longer lonely, for the Senshi have an unknown watcher, one that they will never find.

I will watch until I figure how to return from my exile.

* * *

There was a gem. A multicolored gem. In a silver heart, set atop the full, silver staff.

Another gem. Made out of garnet. Carved like a gaping skull, the pommel of a deep violet dagger.

The Light Blade. It had changed when I grew, going from a child's toy, to a full and deadly dagger. Could I, perhaps, reform it again?

Into a violet heart, with a smooth sphere of garnet?

* * *

A metal staff, deep violet in color, with workings near the end like a key, and capped by a heart, with a sphere of garnet inside.

The hand that holds it is covered in a white glove, and as I look down at it, I also see the dark skirt and boots, below a white body suit, and a bow to match the skirt. In the center of the bow is a dark garnet sphere. I cannot see them, but I know that there is a choker around my neck, and my earrings and tiara are golden.

I am Sailor Pluto.

* * *

They have been looking for me.

Not _me_ me, but for Sailor Pluto. They have forgotten about Surnuro, and her crimes. Crimes that I must still atone for. They look for Sailor Pluto for they know that all planets have Senshi. I believe that Queen Serenity will need a Time Senshi soon, and so I will end their search.

But there is no need not to end it in style!

* * *

The Gate shows me the Throne Room of Serenity, with the Queen and her entourage of Senshi. Near the throne is Rexar, the King of Mars, and Jonu, King of Jupiter. They both stand near their wives, the Senshi of their planets. Besides the group near the dais, the room is filled with courtiers from all planets, including a representative from the Kingdom of Pluto, even though there is no ruler for the planet. Those of Pluto had decided to follow in the Kingdom's path, and allow their Senshi once she was found to rule them. Currently they had a council, made up of members from each City and their principalities.

All was in place for an event that will change the course of the timeline.

It is the end of an otherwise normal day; in fact, it is a day that holds no importance to the Lunar Court. But it does to me. It is the anniversary of my exile, and today I will once again present myself to Queen Serenity, albeit a far descendant of the one who banished me. Earlier in the day, a note was delivered to the Chancellor, requesting an audience with the Queen. It specified no time, only that it take place sometime this day.

The Chancellor had informed Serenity of my request during the luncheon break, and she had told him to announce it at the end of the day, for even she knew that a bit of excitement would raise the mood. That time was now.

The Chancellor raps his staff against the marble floor, silencing the room. "An unknown request for an audience with Queen Serenity was received this morning. Let that person who requested such step forward now."

No one moves in the room, and Serenity frowns slightly. She opens her mouth to speak, when there is a waver in the air before her throne. She stops, and leans forward. Several of the Senshi covertly ready spells, preparing for an attack. I see the shimmering solidify into a closed doorway when the image of the room is cut off.

I lean back from the Gate, and take a deep, steadying breath.

"Open."

The doors before me swing wide, and I am looking at the Queen and the Senshi. I take four steps and am through the Gate, and standing in the same spot as I was last time I was in this room.

I can feel the doors close behind me, and the terminal fade from this plane. I look into Serenity's eyes, and see surprise, and... Relief. She knows who I am.

I kneel, bowing my head. "Queen Serenity, I am here, at your need."

The Queen stands, and spreads her arms. "Welcome, Sailor Pluto, to Luna."

The uproar is deafening, and Serenity steps down from the throne and comes to me. I feel her hand on my head, as she speaks again. "Pluto, rise, friend."

I stand, and see her smile. My heart is uplifted, and I realize the power of the daughters of Serene.

* * *

It has been quite some time since I began my service under the Queens. The other Senshi were surprised to find out that I did not age, and thus would need no replacement. I merely smiled and told them that it came with being so close to Time, but they just laughed.

I have learned to count the years as a Terran would, leaving behind yenda and tannom. My world continues as it did in my absence, prospering as it had not under my hand, so long ago. I let the Council continue their job, partly because I feared repeating the same actions that I had in D'kay, even though my link to Golgotha was long broken and faded. I have had a hand in training some of the younger Senshi, and have had the pleasure of knowing then, and the sadness of watching them fall, be it to accident, battle, or old age. For each of them, I remember, and I am there when they die, for that is one of the powers not granted by the Gate and the Key, but mine own, as the Senshi of Death. I have mourned seven queens, and I can see that I will mourn at least five more before the future becomes so hazy as to be unguessable. Mayhap my predecessor, Vahailia, could have seen though it, but I am not the born Senshi of Time, I merely stand here for awhile, until I am no longer needed.

Some bits of my past still haunt me, and that is meant quite literally. When I came back from my exile, a single Shade sought me out. The Shade has never once communicated with me, and has not served me as one of the demon souls should, but rather as a human would. I have thought that perhaps the human soul that was given up to feed the demonic entity to lure it to this plane for binding was not completely consumed, for the Shade feels different to my senses as well. It keeps about, but never shows itself to any but me, so I have assumed that it must have been one of the people I sacrificed once. Even though that theory make sense, however, the Words of freeing for the Shade have gone unheeded, and it still remains, unFaded from this plane of existence.

I think that it was the Shade who first gave me a hint of the cataclysm to come.

* * *

She was a bare ten years old when she first came to the Lunar Court.

At first, I paid small attention to Jupiter's heir, for I was winding a possibility into reality, for later generations. When I was finished with that task, I had decided to rest for a time, before seeking out my youngest comrade.

She didn't give me the chance.

It was in the palace gardens, a lush, beautiful place, that I rested. Spending such time among the growing, living things, both plant and animal, soothed my soul, for I still recalled a time that I would think nothing of destroying it without care. Laying in the grass, listening to the songbirds sing out their melodies, watching the Earth sink lower on the horizon, that was relaxation to me.

I heard a soft step from the path, but paid it no mind, for the bushes spared me curious glances from the well-worn trail. I thought not of any who might wish me harm, for I was still immune to all but the most vicious of wounds, and why would any assassin or such follow me, when there were the Queen and her family? Selfish, perhaps, but true.

It was thus, that I was quite surprised to hear someone drop to the ground beside me. I turned my head a bit, and saw her.

She had a frown one her petite face, and was staring with some concentration at the Earth, high above. Her soft sable hair was a stark contrast to her pale skin, and she had an almost delicate look to her features. She was dressed in a light green tunic, with the symbol of Jupiter Contained in silver thread on the breast. I found myself instantly disapproving of the color of the tunic, for it made her look as a sickly child.

"Who are you, my dear?" I asked her softly.

The child turned her head to look at me. I saw that her eyes were a brilliant silver, as she replied, "I'm Galadri! But everyone here calls me Jupiter the Younger."

I smiled. "Jupiter the Younger? Merely a title. I will call you by your name, if you do not mind, Galadri." Her eyes sparkled and she smiled at me. The girl so reminded me of a pixie that I was surprised that she did not grow wings and fly away. "Well then, Galadri, what are you doing here?"

Galadri frowned. "Lady Driela got mad at me for asking questions, and told me to go and learn from Sailor Pluto if I would not stop bothering her."

I sighed. The current Sailor Jupiter, Driela, was a short tempered minx, and I was greatly surprised that her heir was not of the same temperament. "I suppose that it was also she who gave you your wardrobe?" At Galadri's nod, I sighed. "Do you know what she really wanted you to do, Galadri?" I asked as I laid back down and watched the sky.

I heard a rustle as she emulated me. "No, what?"

I gave a small smile. "Driela never cared to learn from me when she first came here, and her indifference to me has continued to this day. I suppose that she believed that I would treat you as I did her, after I saw how she was."

Galadri was silent for a time. "So... She wanted you to get mad at me for pestering you?"

"Something like that," I replied.

"But you re not mad at me, right?" the girl asked.

"No." I said, and smile in my voice.

"So even a Senshi can be wrong!" I sat up and looked at her. Galadri had made the amazing leap from several facts to an end conclusion far in advance of what I had expected.

"Quite true, young Galadri. Even a Senshi can be wrong." I gave a soft grunt and stood, offering my hand to her. She took it and I helped her up. "Let us away to the kitchens, and see what the cooks are arranging for dinner. Though like, I am not prepared to wait that long!" Galadri giggled at my courtly speech, and tugged me to the path. I went willingly, and told her as well, "And then we shall stop by the tailors, for if the rest of your wardrobe is as that, then I will have to take it upon myself to redesign it!"

* * *

Driela was not pleased that I had taken Galadri under my wing, but there was naught she could do about it after the Queen remarked that the young Senshi s talents were growing in leaps and bounds studying with me, while in the months that Driela had taught her, she had barely learned anything.

I was inordinately pleased when Serenity gave her blessing, for I had grown quite attached to the girl.

For five years she trained under Driela and myself. She went to Jupiter for instruction in her magic, but for all else, she came to me. Where Driela taught her minor spells and transformative sequences, I shared with her everything from philosophy of magic, to the hierarchy of the Court. Venus once remarked that it was as if Galadri was Pluto the Younger, and the name stuck to her until the day that she became Sailor Jupiter in full.

* * *

I was with Galadri, strolling in the gardens as we so often did. Driela had gone back to Jupiter, to take care of a report of monsters in a settlement on Ganymede. She had left with a snort to her young protégé, telling her that when she returned, she would teach the girl some real magic. Galadri and only smiled, and wished her a speedy return. Driela left with a scowl on her face, for she and Galadri had been at odds for years now, one galling the other on hoping to get the upper hand in each exchange. The pixie that had first come to me in the gardens had grown into a mischievous nymph.

But as we meandered through the gardens that day, speaking of little things, I stopped suddenly, feeling a crawling up my spine. Galadri halted as well, for she had seen this once before when Sailor Mercury had died just a year ago. Her brow creased and she asked, "Who, Pluto?"

My mind immediately went out to find the dying Senshi, and I gasped. "Galadri. Go to the Queen. Now!" The teen looked startled, but was truly surprised when I called the Garnet Rod to my hand and teleported away.

It had been a small village on the shore of one of Ganymede's great seas, but the burning homes and stench of rotting flesh quickly doused by hope of any innocent survivors. I focused on the feeling of death, and followed it to its source.

" **OAK EVOLUTION**!" I heard Jupiter cry, as I stepped into the small village square. The monster crackled with electricity, and its charred corpse fell. A dozen more of the beasts approached the fallen Senshi, snarling their rage.

At this sight, I was well pressed to keep my own rage contained, but that lapsed all too quickly as I saw that several of the fiends still carried the severed pieces of humans; men, women, and children.

Shaking with newfound rage, I shouted out a Word of Power to the monsters. Many of them fell to their knees there, but some resisted the Word, and turned to me. Too late, they found me already on the move, and with careful touches and quick spells they were on the ground, shaking, whimpering, crying out. I left them there, and quickly made my way to Driela. Her eyes were wide, and one of her hands was pressed to a gash in her side, trying to staunch the blood flowing freely from her fingers. Of her other hand, I saw no sign, for it looked as if her arm had been gnawed off shortly after her shoulder, with blood gushing from there as well.

"Pluto." She strained to even say my name. "Pluto! Galadri, she must...!" She cried out as I touched her forehead. She blinked and said calmly, "Pluto, my pain, what have you-?"

"Say it quickly, Driela, for I have done nothing but staved off what is coming for a time. Speak!" I commanded her.

She took a short breath. "My rooms, a book, with Jupiter Unchained. Give it to Galadri! It holds our magic, so much, that I could not even learn half of it in my time. And tell her," She grimaced, and I could tell the she felt Death's nearness. "Tell her that she is everything that Sailor Jupiter should be."

Her eyes faded, and closed. I watched as a few daring sparkles rose from her and cupped them in my hand. Her soul brightened at my touch and I gave her a silent blessing as I released her to the other side.

I rose from her body, and turned to the thrashing fiends that had ended her life.

* * *

I teleported to the throne room, to find that the Queen and her Senshi had gathered there. Galadri was not the only one who gasped in shock at the covered bundle in my arms.

I approached Serenity, and gently laid the body at her feet. I met her eyes, as tears began to trickle down her face. "Your Majesty, Sailor Jupiter is dead, defending her people from the unworldly monsters that killed her subjects." I took a step back, and bowed. Turning, I silently left, even as cries of sorrow rose behind me.

It was some time later that I dared enter Driela s quarters in the palace, searching for a book with the symbol of Jupiter Unchained upon it s cover. It did not take me long to find it, but that was perhaps because another had already acquired it.

"Galadri," I said softly. She raised her head from the book, and I saw her eyes held unshed tears. I came and sat next to her on the chaise. "Sorrow, such shall we need thee, even for one we compete with." The girl blinked, then her face twisted and she buried her face in my breast, wailing her grief.

I held her for a time, knowing that time would come that here would be someone for me, but not already realizing how far I was already.

* * *

Galadri was inducted as Sailor Jupiter one week after the death of Driela, and spent the next year and a half on Jupiter and her moons, meeting her people. I stayed at the Lunar Palace, as was my wont when not at the Gates of Time or tweaking probable futures. We sent a few letters back and forth, but for the most part I did not hear from her again until twenty months after she became Sailor Jupiter.

I was lying in the grass in the same little glade that she had first found me. She did not lie down silently, but instead kneeled by my side. I looked up at her quizzically. She had a soft, wondering smile on her face. I attempted to get up, but she placed her hand on my chest, silently telling me to stay still.

Then she lay down beside me, snuggling up against my side, and throwing her leg across mine. I blinked, and hesitantly placed my arm around her shoulders. She sighed, and embraced me.

We lay there for a time, and I eventually realized that Galadri had fallen asleep. I sighed, and settled in as well.

* * *

When I woke, Galadri was still with me, but we had each moved around some. Our legs now hopelessly intertwined, she was now fully on top of me, her head resting beneath my chin, and above my bow. Our arms encircled one another, and I had the distinct feeling that if someone were to come upon us, they would immediately draw conclusions that were not true.

I sighed softly, and with but a short shift of mind, Galadri and I disappeared from the garden grove and reappeared in my bedroom. I gave a deeper sigh to feel the soft sheets on my back, but almost immediately regretted it, for Galadri stirred when she felt my chest move.

"Mmmm?" came the questioning hum. I believe that she must have opened her eyes and seen where we were, for her next move was to nearly jump off of me and stare in shock around herself. "Where?!"

"Calm down, Galadri!" I told her. She turned back to me and questions filled her eyes. "We just came here a few moments ago. You fell asleep out in the garden. So did I. When I woke up, I moved us here." She sighed, and nodded. "Now then, will you answer a question of mine?" At her nod, I continued. "Why did you choose to... to..."

She grinned her impish grin, "To snuggle up to you?" I blinked, then nodded myself. "Because I ve missed you, my dear. I was so bogged down in matters of state and going to every town and village in Jovian territory that I barely got any time to sleep, much less read your letters and write to you." She suddenly became stricken, "You didn't think I had forgotten you, did you?"

I gave a wry grin. "No, but I was surprised by the way you decided to greet me again."

Galadri blinked, then blushed. "I'm sorry, I just... I just..." Her blush deepened until she was as red as Martian sand. I just looked at her, confused, when she suddenly leaned forward, and kissed me.

My eyes widened in shock, unbelieving of what had just happened. I suddenly realized that the young girl whom I had helped teach had become a beautiful woman. Galadri pressed me down into the bed, and I closed my eyes once more.

* * *

It was a rather curious dance we played after that. Galadri was needed on her world, settling in as Queen, and I, while not particularly needed anyplace that I was not already, could not, and _would_ not, monopolize her time. But each of us would, from time to time, have a curious little smile on our faces that very few understood.

For over three quarters of a century we loved, but she eventually fell, like all things mortal, into my hands. I still remember her aged hands cupped in mine, as her light faded peacefully, in her palace on Jupiter.

* * *

I had grown a bit distant to my fellow Senshi. The death of Galadri, Sailor Jupiter, had shaken me quite badly. I knew, and both Serenity and my Shade had warned me no few times of what would result of my love, considering my agelessness.

But she found in me a teacher, a confidant, and a lover. And I had found in her the same, for life for me had been spiraling down to what it had been during my time in D'kay, alone and hopeless.

Galadri's death drove me from Serenity s court, to where even she could not reach me.

It took me the better part of a decade to reintegrate myself into the ranks of the Senshi, even as distantly as I did.

I hadn't paying much attention to Terra, or its prince. Perhaps if I had, I might have headed off the meeting of the pair until each had found someone that their respective societies would consider more appropriate. Perhaps I did not act because of apathy, but perhaps because I wished to see love work out for once, and did not look to the future and see what would result from their love.

But I did not look, and thus, did not see Jealousy give way to Anger, Hate, and other dark emotions.

It was not until I realized, with the help of my Shade, that I had been _feeding_ off these emotions, and found their source, that I realized my terrible mistake.

I immediately went to Serenity, but she had already signed quite binding treaties with King Endymion to merge their families. I begged her to put it off but one generation, and she took me to task for wanting to break up love merely because I had lost mine.

The last words I spoke to her before the end were these: "I am sorry my Queen, but I must do all in my power to stop Met'ala from arising again!" With that I left her, and retreated to a place I had not stepped foot in for nearly ten thousand years, ever since I left on the great ships to ravage other planets.

My Spire had withstood Time, and stood as I had left it, even though the Citadel had crumbled around it.

I spent weeks in the Study, reading every journal and treatise over and over again, looking for anything that could bind the Demon-God. It was a blessing of sorts that Golgotha had not decided to take Met'ala under him when he ruled, instead of locking her away as he did.

But with Golgotha gone for so long, his bindings on Met'ala and others were weakening.

Reading through the journals of the first Surnuros I found others like Met'ala that he had sealed away, and took some little time to make sure that they were still bound.

Even with that short time at the Gate, I did not sleep nor eat until ever last book had been combed through for the method that Golgotha bound his various rivals with.

It was not recorded.

My Shade evidently had had enough of my plowing myself into the ground, and stole just enough energy from me that-

* * *

When I woke, I was on my bed, the blankets over me still amazingly soft, even though I cannot imagine how, when even the steel of the Palace has rusted and crumbled. It occurs to me that there might be ways to stop the effect of Time without stopping the effected, but that knowledge was lost with Vahailia.

I sit up suddenly. Vahailia! Could she have known even back then that I needed access to the journals?

But never mind that now! What of Met'ala?!

I take the Staff from beside me and shift myself to the Gate. Activating it swiftly, I see...

That nothing has happened yet. I still have time.

* * *

A whispering campaign, soft nudges to people here and there, careful deposits into certain accounts for services requested.

It has been quite some time since I have gone about without magic concealing my face and form, but I know that no one will be able to recognize me. It is necessary, now that I am working against both the Terran courts and Lunar ones.

Perhaps I should make note: I never swore allegiance to any of the many Queen Serenitys that I served under, merely pronounced my services to the greater good, which was, for the majority of that time, Luna.

I now work against her, for if it will save more lives than it takes, then I must prevent the awakening of Met'ala.

Public sentiment on both worlds is starting to sway, and thoughts of war rise to the surface of the peoples of both kingdoms. But I turn the tidings of war against one specific province, that of the House Daimond, and the Lady Beryl that rules it.

She is the one most likely to free Met'ala. Something that must be prevented before Serenity takes action, for I see hers as the last act.

An act that will destroy more of this system than even I imagined.

* * *

Shattered. Ships dying silently in the night. Met'ala's Invincible Shadow creeping closer. The Senshi, standing against the blackness, knowing that they cannot hope to defeat such a creature.

It is thus, that they are shocked when the Shadow screams in rage, and begins to... shrink... I may not have learned such methods to seal away Met'ala again, but I know more than enough to constrain such a mockery of Shades.

The Senshi still stand firm, until they see whom it is that has spared them.

I look upon them and feel sorrow, for I see the coming of each of their deaths. I slowly walk among them, not saying a word for all their questions. My soft, sorrowful smile is all I give them, and I know that they understand what that means. The older Senshi tense, and I know that they wish there were some way out, not for themselves, but for their younger, less experienced comrades.

I can give them no hint as to what I know, but hopefully they will understand if they remember.

I direct them to the spaceport, where we can see that another wave of dark beings have arrived, and they are off with only a few backwards glances at me.

* * *

Serenity's breath is labored; her blood runs freely from her mortal shell. I kneel beside her, and lift her head up, forcing her to drink from the chalice in my hand.

"Pluto." she whispers as I take the cup away. "I... cannot ask..."

"Do not, Serenity." I tell her gently. "Do not. For it was my folly first, to so neglect you and yours."

"Must... Please..."

"I know, Serenity. And I promise. I shall take care of each of them until it is time for them to awaken. They reside in my realm now."

Serenity closed her eyes, smiled, and let go of life.

I laid her body back down and sighed. The last few sparks of her soul drifted up and disappeared into the infinite, and I silently directed them to the same place I had put all of their souls, Senshi and Serenity.

* * *

The Gates of Time stand in this place of no-time, unaffected by the ages, even as am I.

The Shade draws near, and I can feel it watch me. Perhaps it is right. Now I can focus on my atonement, as I have not been able to before.

I have stood in her place, but failed.

I must not fail again. I am the last Senshi, and I must make sure that there will be those again whom I may trust.

* * *

Authors' Note: OVER. USE. OF. COMMAS! Thirty seven of them gone from these three parts from the first draft back in 2004. Otherwise, Trust is unchanged from the original. I honestly couldn't tell you why I mixed in Lords of Magic into Pluto's new origin. I was playing quite a bit at the time I was writing this, and of course Iovis' story (the last senshi I completed) is set entirely on that world.


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